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Tuesday, 18 August 2015

Pentagram - 'Curious Volume' (Album Review)

By: Richard Maw

Album Type:Full Length

Date Released: 21/08/2015

Label: Peaceville
Records

Overall,
for my money, Curious Volume is a better album than Last Rites- more focused,
more inspired and it crackles with life, it really does. It is the best album
from Pentagram in a long while and for that we should all rejoice. Legendary
for a reason!

Curious Volume CD//CS//DD//LP track
listing:

1. Lay Down and Die

2. The Tempter Push

3. Dead Bury Dead

4. Earth Flight

5. Walk Alone

6. Curious Volume

7. Misunderstood

8. Close the Casket

9. Sufferin`

10. Devil`s Playground

11. Because I Made It

Pentagram is:

Bobby Liebling | vocals

Victor Griffin | guitar

Greg Turley | bass

Pete Campbell | drums

The Review:

Pentagram are doom royalty, no question about
it. Their debut (albeit not released until the mid 80's) is revered as a
classic and rightly so. ‘Relentless’
(or whatever you refer to it as) is superb. ‘Day of Reckoning’ and ‘Be
Forewarned’ are also superb. In fact, the list could go on... ‘Last Rites’ was a resurrection of
biblical proportions (is there any other type?) a couple of years back. If you
have seen the film “Last Days Here”
you will know that Bobby Liebling's life has not exactly been a bed of roses
and frankly it is astounding that he is still alive and making music. Nostalgia
and good will aside, though, is the new Pentagram record any
good?!

I
am happy to report that it is. Absolutely. Is it doom? Well, that is another
question. With Victor Griffin back in (he usually is, but sometimes isn't) on
guitar the album has all the raw ingredients of a doom masterpiece. Ultimately,
from opener “Lay Down and Die”
onwards this is a hard rocking affair. Sure, it's dark and edgy and has that Sabbath swing to the riffs, but it has just as much in
common with The Stooges greatest work, or even MC5. This is Lo Fi, American, old school, garage rock n
roll, with a hefty dose of doom running straight up its spine. The sound is
reassuringly retro- fuzzy and over driven with a unique sound (no sound
replacements here!).

The
band excel themselves over the album's length, playing as they do tightly and
with a lovely feel. Griffin in particular is on fire, playing bluesy doom riff
after cool lick and so on. Always providing a more muscular and steady visual
counter point to Liebling's scarecrow like frailty, the two are in perfect sync
here.

“Dead Bury Dead” is a fine example of
the darker material on offer here- it still swings- and it has doom aplenty to
go with the more bluesy sections. “Earth
Flight” is a groovy hard rocking beast that would not be out of place on ‘Fun House’ (as an example). The songs
here are very focused- never lengthy, always toned and structured. The title
track is dark indeed and the record loses none of its focus down the back
stretch. “Close The Casket” is a
particular highlight, but “The Devil's
Playground” is a pure doom delight. Closer “Because I Made It” is a fine track and a triumphant end to a hard
rocking album. Overall, for my money, Curious
Volume is a better album than Last
Rites- more focused, more inspired and it crackles with life, it really
does. It is the best album from Pentagram in a long
while and for that we should all rejoice. Legendary for a reason!

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